More than 80% of nigeria graduates take lagos,portharcourt and abuja nigeria as final destination for job search..Abuja, one will understand is the nations headquarters and opportunities can be seen and lagos which is the commercial nerve center in the country only gained that potential because it housed as nigeria headquarters during nigeria's defining and most important period in history...But p
ortharcourt (Rivers state) is the only state that has never been a capital and hence the authority still manages the increase population and infrastructure.
in fact, the inflow of people to the state capital-portharcourt and her surroundings is fast collapsing the infrastructure.Portharcout seems to be the only city with so much pressure...Human pressure, economic pressure,international pressure as it is the headquarter of oil and gas in Africa and houses the highest number of multinationals in west africa region,political pressure,militancy and various socio - cultural activities...... I think states like Akwa ibom,Cross river is doing very but do not face such pressure as rivers state,delta is also putting institutions that will take care of these problems in the future.. States like Anambra, Abia ,Kano etc are commercial states and the people only need commercial freedom, the people seldom engage there governors on the issue of industrialization and job creation believing to seek for white collar jobs in the big 3 cities...Enugu still feel satisfied as the administrative zone and where one can retire to for rest....Majority of the states in the North do not look mainly on their Governors, they rather think the president has the sole mandate to do everything for them...looking at the ongoing National sports festival,you will see that most states in the north are doing so poorly..
Jigawa state seem to be an exception though.Niger seem fair too
In all, Rivers State has helped in sustaining and putting the needed synergy in our economy and i think other state Governors should try in this like.
The last Rivers state economic summit held in portharcourt was attended by multinationals,even London was represented, this only goes to show how strategic and important the politics and activities of Rivers state and her people is to the world.
The city should be very well positioned as she merits it in all ramification.
* AVIATION COLLEGE
* SPECIAL MARINE COLLEGE
* WATER PLANTS
* SUPERB RAIL AND ROAD NETWORK, WORLD CLASS TOURIST COLLEGE etc

@poster. I commend you for your futile effort at trying to remind the FG of the promises it made in 1975 during the creation of FCT. Nairaland is not a good medium to address this but we can just elaborate a little on it. Port Harcourt was actually included as a regional Federal capital in addition to Lagos and Abuja. The agreement was for FG to build it like Lagos in terms of infrastructure and move some embassies too. That of Abuja has been accomplished in a short period. As at 1991, Abuja was a village but today it has the the best infrastructure in Nigeria.

Just like Abuja is the FCT, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kaduna should be special Federal Territories, independent of any state with special infrastructure development funding. These cities are quite cosmopolitan, represent a 'Nigerian' outlook and are unique in different ways. Lagos - commercial, phc - oil hub, kaduna - defence, etc

karfe: Just like Abuja is the FCT, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kaduna should be special Federal Territories, independent of any state with special infrastructure development funding. These cities are quite cosmopolitan, represent a 'Nigerian' outlook and are unique in different ways. Lagos - commercial, phc - oil hub, kaduna - defence, etc

Just like FCT is Abuja, Lagos is commercial capital,Portharcourt is oil hub, Calabar is tourism hub, Lokoja is confluence town, Aba & nnewi are manufacturing hub,Maiduguri is being prepared as second oil hub from Lake Chad, Enugu and Ibadan are the education hub, Warri is the oil infrastructure manufacturing hub,Onitsha is a trading hub, Abakaliki is the rice hub and Ado-Ekiti is the knowledge and wisdom hub.

These places need immediate FG attention as special territories to attain their potential and serve Nigeria in their different fields.

No city in Nigeria should be given preferential treatment except maybe those that were once federal capital territories. We should try as much as possible to decentralize our population so that people don't go flocking to the big cities because they were given preferential treatment ahead of others. Every city and town should be left to develop at their own pace.

afam4eva: No city in Nigeria should be given preferential treatment except maybe those that were once federal capital territories. We should try as much as possible to decentralize our population so that people don't go flocking to the big cities because they were given preferential treatment ahead of others. Every city and town should be left to develop at their own pace.

GBAM!

My vilage should be given prefrential treatment...

afam4eva: No city in Nigeria should be given preferential treatment except maybe those that were once federal capital territories. We should try as much as possible to decentralize our population so that people don't go flocking to the big cities because they were given preferential treatment ahead of others. Every city and town should be left to develop at their own pace.

^^^So that means Calabar should be in the running then, if not Port Harcourt.

Whatever is wrong with Port Harcourt should be the responsibility of the Rivers state government. We should be asking what the 13% derivative has been used for all these years, so going by your assertion, Enugu, Benin, Ibadan, Maiduguri etc must and should be given special status too.Idea is dead on arrival.

cjrane:

Just like FCT is Abuja, Lagos is commercial capital,Portharcourt is oil hub, Calabar is tourism hub, Lokoja is confluence town, Aba & nnewi are manufacturing hub,Maiduguri is being prepared as second oil hub from Lake Chad, Enugu and Ibadan are the education hub, Warri is the oil infrastructure manufacturing hub,Onitsha is a trading hub, Abakaliki is the rice hub and Ado-Ekiti is the knowledge and wisdom hub.

These places need immediate FG attention as special territories to attain their potential and serve Nigeria in their different fields.

Contrary to the OP, i believe Nigeria should be rearranged into its NATURAL cultural regions as much as possible (see my signature) and these regions should be autonomous. the cities i listed: abuja, lagos, phc and kaduna, are placed at the intersections of these natural regions and if they are run by the federalgovernment, will help to discourage secession which is likely if the centre is too weak. It has often been argued on this forum how lagos is more of a Federal city due to its history even though geographically it belongs to yorubaland

The intention is not to replicate numerous abujas and make the state functions redundant

Whats your point exactly? The rivers state government receives allocations running into hundreds of billions of naira annually. I see no reasons these funds cannot be efficiently and effectively utilised to address the insignificant problems you listed in your article.

karfe:

Contrary to the OP, i believe Nigeria should be rearranged into its NATURAL cultural regions as much as possible (see my signature) and these regions should be autonomous. the cities i listed: abuja, lagos, phc and kaduna, are placed at the intersections of these natural regions and if they are run by the federalgovernment, will help to discourage secession which is likely if the centre is too weak. It has often been argued on this forum how lagos is more of a Federal city due to its history even though geographically it belongs to yorubaland

The intention is not to replicate numerous abujas and make the state functions redundant

Would it then be a bad thing to replicate "Abujas" in every state or indeed every city of Nigeria? Your thinking is exactly the problem of Nigeria. Thieves select artificial sites and steal resources from other areas to develop it. Citing bogus, stupid argument for their untenable action and imagine they have deceived everyone.

America has 50 states, all with cities as beautiful as their capital Washington DC! So nobody needs to move from Texas,Florida,California,Oregon,Iowa,Connecticut, Louisiana or Georgia to live in Washington DC just because it has a higher standard of living because resources from other areas was stolen and wasted on it. That is the critical difference between the Nigerian mindset and the Americans. They consider Nevada to be just as important as Ohio. What makes you think Abuja deserves more resources than Ado-Ekiti ? Infact, it is because of our penchant for cheating that nobody wants to remain in a united Nigeria,in spite of our powerful advantages for staying united.

PROUD-IGBO:


^^^So that means Calabar should be in the running then, if not Port Harcourt.

It depends on how we want to look at it. Some people will argue that Calabar was the capital of the southern protectorate and not Nigeria. Infact, i feel every city irrespective of it's importance to the federation including Abuja and Lagos should be left to govern and develop itself at it's own pace.

cjrane:


Would it then be a bad thing to replicate "Abujas" in every state or indeed every city of Nigeria? Your thinking is exactly the problem of Nigeria. Thieves select artificial sites and steal resources from other areas to develop it. Citing bogus, stupid argument for their untenable action and imagine they have deceived everyone.

America has 50 states, all with cities as beautiful as their capital Washington DC! So nobody needs to move from Texas,Florida,California,Oregon,Iowa,Connecticut, Louisiana or Georgia to live in Washington DC just because it has a higher standard of living because resources from other areas was stolen and wasted on it. That is the critical difference between the Nigerian mindset and the Americans. They consider Nevada to be just as important as Ohio. What makes you think Abuja deserves more resources than Ado-Ekiti ? Infact, it is because of our penchant for cheating that nobody wants to remain in a united Nigeria,in spite of our powerful advantages for staying united.

You're sooo spot on...

Why can't we follow the American model in the way they develop. We should develop from bottom-up rather than from up-bottom. The reason why people shout marginalization is because the government gives preferential treatment to some cities leaving others to rut and making people in those places to move en-mass to the big cities. New York as a city was built with the money generated from the city. It's not as if oil money was taken from Texas and used to build it. Even the capital city, Washington DC is not among the top 5 cities in America.

afam4eva:
It depends on how we want to look at it. Some people will argue that Calabar was the capital of the southern protectorate and not Nigeria. Infact, i feel every city irrespective of it's importance to the federation including Abuja and Lagos should be left to govern and develop itself at it's own pace.

Murtala's broadcast proclaiming Abuja as federal capital - February 3, 1976.


The panel on the location of the Federal Capital has recommended that the
nations capital should move out of Lagos to a federal territory of about
8,000 square kilometres to the central part of the country. The Supreme
Military Council has accepted this recommendation. The site recommended the
satisfied the panels criteria of centrality good and tolerable climate, land
availability, and use, inadequate water supply, low population density,
physical planning convenience, security and multi-access possibility. The
area is not within the control of any of the major ethnic groups in the
country. We believe that the new capital created on such virgin lands as
suggested will be for all Nigerians a symbol of their onesness and unity.
The Federal Territory will belong to all Nigerians.

The few local inhabitants in the area who need to be moved out of the
territory for planning purposes will be resettled outside the area in places
of their choice at government expense.

In order to avoid land speculation in the area, a decree is being
promulgated immediately to vest all land in the Federal Territory in the
Federal Government. A Federal Capital Development Authority is to be
established to plan and administer the territory. An administrator for the
Federal territory will soon be appointed to provide municipal services in
the area.

The chairman of the Federal Government Authority of nine members will be of
cabinet rank. The authority is expected to start work at once but the
movement of the seat of the Federal Government out of Lagos is expected take
some ten to fifteen years. The present administration is firmly committed to
ensuring that the necessary ground work is completed and construction work
started within the next four years.

Lagos will, in the foreseeable future, remain the nations commercial capital
and one of its nerve centres. But in terms of servicing the present
infrastructure alone the committed amount of money and effort required will
be such that Lagos State will not be ready to cope. It will even be unfair
to expect the state to bear this heavy burden on it sown. It is therefore
necessary for the Federal Government to continue to sustain the substantial
investment in the area. The port facilities and other economic activities in
the Lagos area have to be expanded. There is need in the circumstances for
the Federal Government to maintain a special defence and security
arrangement in Lagos which will henceforth be designated a special area.
These arrangements will be carefully worked out and written into the new
constitution. Kaduna and Port Harcourt are to be accorded similar status and
designated..........

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107436:the-trouble-with-abuja-nigerias-capital-at-21n&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

One of the strategic details Gen. Muhammed promised the nation was making Lagos, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt, Commercial Capital and Special Areas respectively to reduce pressure on Abuja. His words that his successors have continually ignored:

@afam4eva, i know my point is strongly superior.Having seen and visited all these places with details, i have seen and known for myself.
Leaving states to develop at it's pace and developing just Abuja and Lagos will not get us nowhere.Portharcourt on her own has developed to be the 3rd most developed city on her own....Invariably, without the present of FG in Abuja and Lagos,PH would have been the best city Nigeria can boast of...So poor.
Rivers State Government has tried in all ramification to sustain continues failing of infrastructure in that state.Nigerians and foreigners troop into that coastal city on daily basis and hence determined to stay.
Why would other states be left to develop at it pace when in actual sense 80% are not developing in the very right way and some are not developing at all! Some Governors and stake holders wait every month to share allocation from Abuja without talking about where and how the money is made.
Since it is the responsibility of the Government to develop a nation,they should do it where needed and where necessary.
Since all states are being left to develop itself,what have we got?LOS ANGELES? OR OHIO?Even in US, once there is a need, usually Washington D.C steps in.The present of D.C is everywhere in the USA.I won't be surprise if D.C presence is not in your domain(NIGERIA).Can u bet on that?

peleson: @afam4eva, i know my point is strongly superior.Having seen and visited all these places with details, i have seen and known for myself.
Leaving states to develop at it's pace and developing just Abuja and Lagos will not get us nowhere.Portharcourt on her own has developed to be the 3rd most developed city on her own....Invariably, without the present of FG in Abuja and Lagos,PH would have been the best city Nigeria can boast of...So poor.
Rivers State Government has tried in all ramification to sustain continues failing of infrastructure in that state.Nigerians and foreigners troop into that coastal city on daily basis and hence determined to stay.
Why would other states be left to develop at it pace when in actual sense 80% are not developing in the very right way and some are not developing at all! Some Governors and stake holders wait every month to share allocation from Abuja without talking about where and how the money is made.
Since it is the responsibility of the Government to develop a nation,they should do it where needed and where necessary.
Since all states are being left to develop itself,what have we got?LOS ANGELES? OR OHIO?Even in US, once there is a need, usually Washington D.C steps in.The present of D.C is everywhere in the USA.I won't be surprise if D.C presence is not in your domain(NIGERIA).Can u bet on that?

thanks

Abagworo:

Murtala's broadcast proclaiming Abuja as federal capital - February 3, 1976.

Lagos will, in the foreseeable future, remain the nations commercial capital
and one of its nerve centres. But in terms of servicing the present
infrastructure alone the committed amount of money and effort required will
be such that Lagos State will not be ready to cope. It will even be unfair
to expect the state to bear this heavy burden on it sown. It is therefore
necessary for the Federal Government to continue to sustain the substantial
investment in the area. The port facilities and other economic activities in
the Lagos area have to be expanded. There is need in the circumstances for
the Federal Government to maintain a special defence and security
arrangement in Lagos which will henceforth be designated a special area.
These arrangements will be carefully worked out and written into the new
constitution. Kaduna and Port Harcourt are to be accorded similar status and
designated..........

thank you

Port harcourt ,special status?
Maybe in another life.
Abuja is consuming the future right now at the expense of everything other place.

The federal Government needs to declare and maintain 6 Regional headquarters this would make each of the geo political zones have an FG presence and a capital and will will prevent a situation where there would be lop sided development and that would lead a part of the country migrating to another part , as we are seeing igbos and niger delta move to lagos and abuja